Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 22:20 It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 22:20
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
805+ Level|   Comparisons|   Modifiers|      
User avatar
jooyoung99
User avatar
Joined: 28 Feb 2018
Last visit: 19 Mar 2018
Posts: 15
Own Kudos:
145
 [74]
Posts: 15
Kudos: 145
 [74]
As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposi 13 Mar 2018, 17:02
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
70
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

95% (hard)

Question Stats:

23% (01:22) correct 77% (01:31) wrong based on 1321 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposia, mathematicians are discovering more and more unsolved problems, nearly twice as many as confounded mathematicians of the 1950s.

A. twice as many as confounded
B. double the number of problems that confounded
C. two times the problems as confounded the
D. twice as many as the problems that confounded
E. double the problems that confounded
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
A
Most Helpful Reply
avatar
prasanna1417
avatar
Joined: 21 Oct 2009
Last visit: 05 Apr 2018
Posts: 9
Own Kudos:
27
 [6]
Given Kudos: 10
Location: India
Schools: XLRI (A)
GPA: 2.83
Schools: XLRI (A)
Posts: 9
Kudos: 27
 [6]
As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposi 13 Mar 2018, 18:09
5
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
jooyoung99
As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposia, mathematicians are discovering more and more unsolved problems, nearly twice as many as confounded mathematicians of the 1950s.

a. twice as many as confounded
b. double the number of problems that confounded
c. two times the problems as confounded the
d. twice as many as the problems that confounded
e. double the problems that confounded
Show more


I answered it in a haste as (B)......I guess the sentence in simple words is trying to say:

More and more unsolved problems are now being solved>>which is almost double the number of problems which could not be solved in 1950 and confounded=confused/tricked the then mathematicians'........

a) Twice as many as (the unsolved problems) that confounded----we dont need to write the ones in bracket, as the reference is quite clear, as the clause immediately after the comma is referring to the "unsolved problems" which is just before the comma.

b) double the number of problems --- this part looks like directly referring to the unsolved problems, giving it a meaning as if the number of unsolved problems were exactly the same number of overall problems that confounded (confused/tricked) mathematicians' of 1950- (irrespective of they were finally solved/unsolved).

c) same error as b

d) Twice as many as the problems that confounded.......here again the reference to unsolved problems is wrongly made to the whole set of problems which confounded 1950 Mathematicians', some of which would have been solved too........

e) same error as b

So A, is non wordy, correct reference, meaning contained and apt.

Experts: Pls correct my understanding
General Discussion
User avatar
jooyoung99
User avatar
Joined: 28 Feb 2018
Last visit: 19 Mar 2018
Posts: 15
Own Kudos:
145
 [4]
Posts: 15
Kudos: 145
 [4]
As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposi 13 Mar 2018, 20:13
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
So in this sentence, I think what is "nearly twice as many" are unsolved problems.

What's throwing me off is the comparison of "unsolved problems" to "confounded mathematicians of the 1950s".

How can there be twice as many "unsolved problems" as "confounded mathematicians"? Is there an implied "unsolved problems" somewhere?

I think this is how the sentence should be written:

As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposia, mathematicians are discovering more and more unsolved problems that are nearly twice as many as problems discovered by confounded mathematicians of the 1950s.

What am I missing?
User avatar
aragonn
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 23 Sep 2015
Last visit: 30 Sep 2019
Posts: 1,231
Own Kudos:
5,890
 [3]
Given Kudos: 416
Products:
My Reviews
Posts: 1,231
Kudos: 5,890
 [3]
As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposi 17 Mar 2018, 07:39
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
twice is used for comparison, double is mostly used as an adjective.

here this question is for comparison. A vs D. let see comparison of what. "unsolved problem" compared with ???

D changed the meaning as it is talking about all the problem.
User avatar
DmitryFarber
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 08 Nov 2025
Posts: 3,020
Own Kudos:
8,563
 [3]
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,020
Kudos: 8,563
 [3]
As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposi 27 Apr 2018, 00:36
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
This isn't a wonderful sentence, but I think what's confounding many people here is that "confounded" is intended as a verb, not an adjective. We're not talking about "confounded mathematicians." We're saying that the current number is twice the number that confounded the mathematicians of the 50's.
User avatar
rahul16singh28
User avatar
Joined: 31 Jul 2017
Last visit: 09 Jun 2020
Posts: 428
Own Kudos:
499
Given Kudos: 752
Location: Malaysia
Schools: INSEAD Jan '19
GPA: 3.95
WE:Consulting (Energy)
Schools: INSEAD Jan '19
Posts: 428
Kudos: 499
As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposi 27 Apr 2018, 04:31
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
DmitryFarber
This isn't a wonderful sentence, but I think what's confounding many people here is that "confounded" is intended as a verb, not an adjective. We're not talking about "confounded mathematicians." We're saying that the current number is twice the number that confounded the mathematicians of the 50's.
Show more

Hi DmitryFarber

Can you please Explain how D is grammatically wrong??
User avatar
DmitryFarber
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 08 Nov 2025
Posts: 3,020
Own Kudos:
8,563
 [3]
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,020
Kudos: 8,563
 [3]
As is supported by evidence recently presented in mathematical symposi 30 Apr 2018, 22:59
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
rahul16singh28 Sure. First off, it works just fine to compare modifiers rather than nouns, so we don't need to add the words "the problems." When we do, it creates a potential misinterpretation. We could read this as "Mathematicians discovering twice as many unsolved problems as the problems that confounded mathematicians did." In other words, grammatically, we are comparing mathematicians to unsolved problems. This might seem like a really crazy way to read the sentence, but the structure creates that expectation. Think of the sentence "I scored ten goals, twice as many as the top player on the opposing team." Notice that here I'm comparing what I did to what the other player did. That's the same structure we see in D.
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7445 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
miag
188 posts